Method of and apparatus for producing roofing



Dec, 8, 1931. F; JAEGER 1,834,950

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ROOFING Filed Feb. 16, 1929 sSheets-"Sheet 1 INVENTOR flea x0 9)" gn gm ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1931. E E1,834,950

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCIfIG ROOFING ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1931.F'JAEGER 1,834,950

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ROOFING Filed Feb.-16, 1929 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ji zd Jge dsr ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1931"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRED JAEGER, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY,ASSIGNOR, BY IESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO THE PATENT AND LICENSING CORPORATION, OF BOSTON, EASSACHUSETTS, A.

ooaromnon or mssacnusa'rrs METHOD OF AND APPARATUR IOR PROD'UGINGROOFING Application filed February 16, 1928; Serial No. 340,3.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for surfacingroofing material and is more particularly concerned with means forsurfacing roofing material of the type having on one or both facesthereof a layer of waterproof coating material such as blown asphalt, orthe like.

Prepared roofing is now being manufactured in large quantities bysaturating sheet 1 material, such as felt, with a waterproofing saturantand then applying over the surfaces or a, surface thereof a ooatlnglayer of blown asphalt, after which mineral surfacing in comminuted orgranular form is partlally embedded in the said coatin layer or layers.

The roofing material thus fa ricated is either cut up into shingle unitsor strip shingles,

and in-many instances also is put up in the form of rolls of substantiallength.

The mineral surfacing overlying the coating layer of prepared roofingmaterial fabricated in the aforedescribed manner, serves to protect thecoating layer from the deteriorating action of solar rays and functionsalso to render the product-fire-resistant as well as to provide adecorative finish therefor.

In; spite of the protection afforded by the mineral surfacing to thecoating layer, however, itfrequently happens that the coating 80 layerdoes not weather evenly and is deleteriously affected after exposure tothe elements for a greater or shorter period of time. --It is known thatwaterproofing material such as blown asphalt, may be made more durableand resistant to the action of the weather by incorporating thereinsubstantial quantities of mineral filler. However, it is onlywithconsiderable difficulty and annoyance that mineral fillers-man bemechanically incorporated in or disseminated through molten asphalt ofrelativelyhigh melting point. Further'.diificulties areencountered inthe handling of molten asphalt having mineral filler incorporatedtherein. p \Some effort has been made to increase the relative amount ofmineral surfacing carried icated. r

by asphaltic prepared roofing. These, gen

erally, have been directed towards showering the coated sheet withquantities of mineral surfacing in excess of that normally employed,and'then passing the granule covered sheet around pressure rolls forapplyingincreased pressure to the sheet in the hope of forcing some ofthe granular mineral into the coating la er. This procedure, however, isobjectiona 1e and does not afford a commercially practicable method ofoperation masmuch as the coating material, beingusually of viscous andplastic nature, readily exudes to the surface under the high pressurenecessarily required, and adheres to and collects upon the press rolls,thus seriously interfering with the o ration and in fact frustating theurposest ereof.

y invention has for one of its objects the fproduction of asphalt coatedand mineralsur the advantages of a coating layer of asphalt havingsubstantial quantities of mineral matter disseminatedtherethrough whileavoiding the difliculties attendant upon the mechanical admixing of theasphalt and mineral filler, as well as upon the methods heretoforesuggested a for providing increased amounts of mineral surfacing nprepared roofing.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved method of andmeans for producing asphalt coated and mineral surfaced roofing whereinthe finished product carries a higher percentage of mineral surfacing inrelation to the asphalt coating thereon, than is generally obtainedunderpresent 5 7 aced roofing in such manner as to secure to be moreparticularly described hereinafter, 1

are designed to accomplish the foregoing objects without materialalteration of or appreciable interference with the presentnormalpractice in the commercial manufacture of prepared roofing, andthese embodiments are each adapted to. afford a simple means forimproving the product and the process of "manufacture in the directionsabove indi- Other objects and advantageous features of the inventionwill be apparent from the more detailed description to follow, and

' tus shown in Figure 1 Figure 3, is a plan view of a slightly modifiedform of apparatus for carrying out the invention; Figure 4 is a planview taken along line 44 of Figure 5 and shows another method ofcarrying out the invention;

I Figure 5 is a sectional view of apparatus employed in carrying out themethod of Fig- Figure 6 is adetailed section of part of the apparatusshown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 shows a slightly. modified form of apparatus that may be used;

Figure 8 is a detail of the apparatus shown in Figure 7; v Figure 9-is asomewhat magnified illustration of the product produced by my invention;

Figures 10 and 11 show still another form of apparatus, and

Figure 12 is a conventional diagrammatic view illustrating the portionsor stages of the manufacturing process with which my invention isparticularly concerned.

In the several figures, the letter S denotes .a sheet of roofing basesuch as asphalt impregnated felt having a more or less heavy layer ofmolten high melting point blown asphalt on the surface thereof which isto form the exposed face of the finished goo-ls, as the said sheet isprogressively moving through a roofing machine. This coating layer maybe applied to the surface of the saturated sheet through a delivery pipeor spray 10 (Figure 12). If desired, a layer of coating asphalt may alsobe applied to the opposite face of the sheet by means of a coating roll11 rotating in a bath of molten blown asphalt 12.

After the sheet has received the coating layer upon its uppermost face,it next passes beneath apparatus (designated generally by the letter Ain Figure 12), operative to cause finely divided or comminuted mineralmatter to be forced into and submerged in the coating layer. In order tocause a rapid, continuous, and effectual driving and submergence ofmineral matter in the coating layer, I utilize the impelling' action ofcompressed air or the like, as will presently appear. The

operation of the apparatus indicated at A is carried on in such a waythat mineral matter will be driven into the coating layer and besubstantially completely submerged therein, the outermost surface of thecoating re maining exposed and in sufliciently adhesive condition forthe reception of granular mineral such as crushed slate or the like,which latter is delivered upon the sheet from a trough 13 to becomepartially-imbedded in the coating layer and-thus form the usual mineralsurfacing for the product.- The granular surfacing fed; from the trough13 may 'be caused to attach itself firmly to the surface of the sheet bypassing the latter over the usual pressure drums 14,, from whence thesheet may be led through a cooling zone and then formed into rolls orroofing units of the desired size and shape. Where coating material hasbeen applied to the opposite face of the sheet at the coating rolls 11,a non- As here shown, the sheet S with its coating layer of hot asphaltis travelling in the direction indicated by the arrow. The apparatus Ais mounted adjacent one of the marginal edges of the sheet so as to blowor force the comminuted mineral in a direction generally crosswise 0fthe path of movement of the sheet. Mineral matter of the desired kindand degree of fineness is stored in a bin or hopper and falls downwardlyunder theaction of gravity through'the conduit 21 controlled by thevalve 22. The lower end of the conduit terminates in a bed-plate 23extended forwardly to a point contiguous to the plane of marginal edgeof the sheet. Projecting into the conduit 21'near the lower end thereofand'resting substantially on the bedplate- 23, is an air line 26controlled by a valve 27 and connected to any suitable source ofcompressed air or other fluid force. As the comminuted mineral fallingthrough the conduit 21 reaches the lower end thereof, it comes under theinfluence of the air-blast from pi e 26 and is blown forwardly therebyacross t e sheet and is driven into the coating layer by the impellingforce of the airblast. The linear extent which the mineral stream thusproduced may attain, for the accommodation of sheets of various widths,as well as the trajectory and consequently the driving force'of thestream, may be varied, and for thispurpose, I provide a swingabledeflecting member 28, hinged at 29 adjacent the lower end of the conduit21 and provided with ears '30 accommodating a bolt 31 for adjustablemovement and positioning within arcuate slots 32 of the bracelikeextensions 33 proje'ctin from the forward wall of the conduit 21. 33yvarying the air-pressure and the position of the deflecting cover plate28, I may vary the effective depth to which the mineral will be driveninto the coating layer. In this way I am enabled to regulate theoperation for coatings of varying thickness. Furthermore, by this means,the mineral filler may, if desired, be driven into the coating layer soas toconcentrate in the upper zones or regionsthereof, 1e vin thelowermost per. in the art. The impelling action of the airtions of thecoating unfil led and substantialor other fluid force will serve todrive the ly free of mineral filler. mineral granules into the coatinglayer and In Fi ure 3, the arrangement ,is substantially i enticalwith-that of Figures 1 and 2 except that here the side walls of thebedplate 23 flare outwardly and a pair of similarly diverging guidelates 34 are fixed to the bed-plate 23 where y to assist in spreadingthe stream of mineral as it is forced outwardly by the air jet.

Figures 4, 5, and 6 show a somewhat different arrangement in that herethe mineral is thrown against the sheet in a stream moving in the samegeneral direction as the sheet,

inmead of transversely of the path of move-- 'mentof the sheet as inFigures 1, 2 and 3.

In carryingout. the invention with the arrangement of Figures 4, 5 and6, I may employ as many separate streams across the sheet as arenecessary completely'to cover the sheet across its entire widthwiseextent. In Figures 4 and 5, I have-shown two storage bins 40 for themineral, and a feed conduit 41 extending downwardly from each of saidbins. 'In this form the flow of mineral through each conduit iscontrolled by a vertically sliding gate 42 connected to suitableoperating mechanism therefor (not shown) through links or rods 43. Theair supply lines are indicated at 44 in these figures.

A further modified arrangement for carry ing out the invention isdepicted in'Figure's 7 and 8 wherein the sheet is indicated by the arrowto be moving in a direction opposite to the general direction of flow ofthe mineral stream, this arrangement affording somewhat greaterimpinging force of the mineral stream upon the coated sheet. In thisform, also the'side walls 50 of the forwardly extending bed-plate areflared outwardly, and the mouth or nozzle 52 of the air-feed pipe '53 issimilarly flared to provide for a wide spread of the mineral stream.Here also, a deflecting cover plate 54 may be swingably connected to theconduit 51 for the same purpose as described in connection with coverplate 28 of Figures 1 and 2. y

In the form of apparatus shown in Figures 10 and 11, the arrangement isgenerally similar to that of Figures 7 and 8, except that here the sidewalls of the bed-plate are flared at their extremities as shown at 61,and the swingable deflecting member 69 is provided with outwardlyflaring sidewalls 62, as shown. .In this form also, the air feed line 67may be formed with a tri-furcated nozzle 68, which, in conjunctionwiththe segments 61 of the walls 60 and the flaring sides of the deflectingmember 69, serves to spread the mineral stream as it is being projectedby the air draft.

In .operation, the several devices thus described will'function in themanner already stated and as will be apparent to those skilled submergethe same therein. It may be desirable in many instances to employ heatedair or gas in order to warm the mineral matter whereby the same may becaused to be driven into the coating with greater despatch.

By the process thus described, of first loading the coating, by drivingthereinto a substantial amount of mineral filler, and then surfacing thesheet in the customary manner and with the usual mineral surfacing ahighly improved and more durable and weather resistant product may beproduced. In Figure 9 I have attempted to illustrate in a somewhatmagnified view,'the product resulting from the process of my invention.In this view the numeral 70 indicates the foundation or base of theroofing, which may comprise asphalt impregnated felt, and 71 indicates.the overlying coating layer of .high melting point asphalt or the like.Distributed through the coating layer there will be seen numerousparticles, comprising the mineral filler driven into and submerged inthe coating by the impelling force of compressed air or the like. Thisfilled zone of the coating is indicated at 72. The usual mineralsurfacing of crushed slate, slag, or the like, ad-. hering to theoutermost surface of the coating.

layer and partially embedded therein is indicated at 73.

The mineral filler 72 may comprise fine sand, or the fines of crushedslate, or waste mixed slates that generally accumulate around a roofingplant and which have heretofore been discarded. This waste slate can beprofitably reclaimed in accordance with my invention by supplying it tothe hoppers of the apparatus A and using it as the mineral filler to bedriven into the coating in the mannerdescribed.

I claim as my invention;

1. In the manufacture of mineral surfaced prepared roofing, theimprovement which comprises coating a foundation sheet with a layer ofplastic adhesive waterproofing material, loading said coating layer withmineral filler by driving said mineral filler into said coating materialunder the impelling action of a fluid force, and subsequently applying alayer of granular surfacing .material to the thus loaded coating.

2. In the manufacture of mineral surfaced prepared roofing, theimprovement which comprises coating a foundation sheet with a layer ofplastic adhesive waterproofing material, loading said coating layer withmineral filler by driving said mineral filler into said coating materialunder the impelling action of compressed air, and subsequently applyinga layer of granular surfacing material to the thus loaded coating.

3. In the manufacture of mineral surfaced prepared roofing, the stepscomprising applying a coating layer of bituminous waterproofing materialto a foundation sheet, forcing comminuted mineral ,matter into saidcoating layer by the vimpelling action of compressed air whereby saidmineral will becomethe sheet'carrying said filled coating with. crushedmineral and causing the latter to be) partially imbedded in said coatingwhereby to provide a mineral surfacing therefor. v

5. In the manufacture of prepared roofing wherein a surface of afoundation sheet is supplied with a coating layer of adhesiveWaterproofing material, the improvement which comprises loading saidwaterproofing material with comminuted mineral matter after the coatinglayer has been supplied to said sheet and While it is still in adhesive.

condition, said improvement including the step of forcing said mineralmatter into the coating layer under air-pressure conditions adjusted tocause said mineral matter to become substantially completely submergedin said coating layer. 4

6. In the manufacture of prepared roofing, the steps comprising coatinga foundation sheet with a layer of adhesive waterproofing substance,passing said coated sheet in close proximity to a stream of comminutedmin eral matter, moving underthe influence of fluid pressure whereby tocause said mineral matter. to become'substantially submerged in saidcoating and subsequently applying a layer of granular material as asurfacing to the coated sheet.

7. In the manufacture of prepared roofing, the steps comprising coating2. foundation sheet with a layerof adhesive waterproofing substance,subjecting the coated sheet to the action of a stream of commi-nutedmineral matter moving under the influence of fluid pressure, andthereafter applying a layer of granular surfacing material to the coatedsheet. I

8. In an apparatus of the character described, means for deliveringfinely divided mineral matter .froma storage supply to a coated sheet ofroofing base, fluid-pressure means for causing said mineral matter to bedriven into and submerged in the coating of said base, and means forthereafter surfacing the thus treated coating with granular mineralmatter.

"9; In an apparatus of the character described means for deliveringfinely divided in the-thus treated coating with granular mineral matter.5 10. In an apparatus ofthe character described means for deliveringfinely divided mineral matter from a storage supply to a coated sheet ofroofing base, mechanism associated with said delivery means for forcinga stream of the finely divided mineral matter transversely across thesheet and causing said mineral matter to become substantially submergedin' said coating and means for thereafter surfacing the thus treatedcoating with granular mineral matter.

11. In an apparatus of the character described means for deliveringfinely divided mineral matter from a storage supply to a coated sheet ofroofing base, mechanism associated with said delivery means for forcinga stream of the finely divided mineral matter transversely across thesheet and causing said mineral matter to become substantially submergedin said coating and means for regulating the trajectory of said stream.

Signed at Rutherford, in the county Bergen and State of New Jersey, this13th day of February, A. D. 1929.

' FRED JAEGER.

